Student Becomes Teacher: Meet Carlos Zelfo

Carlos Zelfo came to Bethlehem Bible College as a young theology student. He came to learn the Word of God, and here at the College, he met his beautiful wife Jane. They got married, and they now have three very special children, two boys and a girl!

From Student to Teacher

Carlos said that he loved it when he was a student at BethBC. “The atmosphere of the College was perfect; it gave me motivation to study and dig deep in the Bible with the teachers. And that pushed me and my wife to sign up for the MA program in Christian Leadership! We were the first ones who participated in the first group of the program!”

Now Carlos is the coordinator of the Christian Leadership Master’s Program at the College and also serves as a lecturer. He teaches Church History and Geography of the Bible. “After I graduated from the MA program, the College opened the door for me to be the program coordinator and a teacher, which I’ve served in since September 2015!”

MA in Christian Ministry and Leadership

As the first Master’s degree in ministry for Arab speakers in the Holy Land, Bethlehem Bible College’s MA in Christian Leadership & Ministry was launched in 2009 as a joint program between BethBC and our Galilee extension, Galilee Bible College.  Due to the decreasing Christian population in the Holy Land, there is an urgent need for strong Christian Arab leaders who are informed, have critical minds and are wise in theological, ethical and social fields.

The MA in Christian Ministry & Leadership at BethBC helps equip godly leaders who value the Word of God and who are committed to faithful and informed ministry.

Our MA in Christian Ministry is a 3-year program consisting of 36 credit hours.  Courses include: Biblical Theology, Hermeneutics, Contextual Theology, Ethics, Reconciliation Theology and Conflict Resolution, Christian Leadership and Administration, Worship, Pastoral Ministries, Missiology and Spiritual Formation of Leaders.

Carlos adds: “All of our teachers have PhD degrees, and they all have experiences in churches and leadership ministries. They are all authors and amazing leaders, such as Rev. Dr. Yohanna Katanacho and Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac.”

This June, 13 students graduated from the program, many of whom are currently or will soon be serving as pastors, teachers, or leaders in Christian organizations. Each participant must establish a new ministry or develop an existing one in order to graduate.

“This year’s graduates did their thesis about his or her own ministry. For example, we have a student who is a leader in the Orthodox Scout in Beit Sahour, and they did a theological platform for the scout group! Another student wrote her thesis about women ordination in the Lutheran church.”

“I encourage leaders and ministers to participate in this program, because we are in so much need of empowered and skilled leaders to serve the Lord in this land!”

Carlos also shared some successful stories of people who graduated from this program. They are now influential leaders in their work places, such as Tony Nassar, the director of Dar Al Kalema Lutheran School in Bethlehem; Gabriel Hanna, the director of the media department at Bethlehem Bible College; Carlos himself, and many others!

We thank God for people like Carlos. Without their dedication and hard work for the College and the students, we could not accomplish these things! We are so proud of our graduates, and we pray that they will be a blessing to their ministries, churches and organizations!